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Morning Notes

Published November 7, 2012 at 9:55AM

‘Concentration of Poverty’ at APS? — Some parents say Arlington Public Schools have designed school boundaries to concentrate lower-income students in south Arlington schools. At least one parent is hoping the school system creates a rule in which “no school would be able deviate from the district-wide percentage of poverty by more or less than 10 points.” [WAMU]

District Taco Expanding — District Taco, which opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Arlington, is continuing to expand in the District. The restaurant has signed a lease and will be opening a second D.C. location on Capitol Hill. [Washington Post]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 18, 2012 at 9:00AM

Career Fair Coming Next Week — Registration is now open for the second annual Arlington Employment Center Fall Career Fair. The career fair will allow job hunters to “meet with over 50 area top employers with jobs in IT, administration, education, construction, banking, retail, healthcare, transportation and more.” It will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at George Mason University’s Founders Hall (3351 Fairfax Drive). Registration is free. [Arlington County]

Liberty Tavern Makes Fall Dining Guide — Clarendon’s Liberty Tavern is the sole Arlington entrant on food critic Tom Sietsema’s 2012 Fall Dining Guide. The guide lists 40 of Sietsema’s favorite restaurants around the region. [Washington Post]

Opinion

Nominees Announced, ABBIES Voting Begins

By ARLnow.com

Published October 17, 2012 at 10:30AM

The ABBIES recognize “Arlington’s best businesses” in 17 different categories. Businesses were nominated by residents and the winning businesses will be chosen by popular vote.

Voting will take place through Nov. 9. The winners will be announced at the County Board meeting on Nov. 27. Last year’s winners can be found here.

Around Town

Melody Tavern Closes Its Doors

By ARLnow.com

Published October 5, 2012 at 3:45PM

Melody Tavern (3650 S. Glebe Road), a bar/restaurant that hosted live music, has closed after about a year in business. On Facebook, the owners thanked customers for “10 wonderful months.”

“This location is far more challenging than anticipated so we have decided to close the doors,” the Facebook post said. “We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause some. Thank you and God Bless.”

Around Town

UPDATED: Cantina Mexicana Expanding to Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published October 5, 2012 at 2:00PM | Updated October 5, 2012 at 4:14PM

Update at 4:15 p.m. — Co-owner Gloria Arias tells ARLnow.com that the restaurant will have the same menu as the Crystal City location. She’s hoping to open the new restaurant in November.

Crystal City Tex-Mex restaurant Cantina Mexicana is expanding with a second location in Arlington.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Do You Work for the Government?

By ARLnow.com

Published October 2, 2012 at 10:05AM

Last week, an opinion piece in Bloomberg View theorized that the Washington area is boring and un-hip “because it’s full of people who work for and around the government.”

Undoubtedly, there are lots of people in the area, and in Arlington in particular, who work for or around the government. And employment estimates bear that out. But does that really tell the full story?

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 2, 2012 at 9:05AM

Clarendon Crash Suspect Has Long Record — The suspected DUI driver in a critical pedestrian accident in Clarendon over the weekend has a long history of driving violations, including speeding, unsafe lane changes and reckless driving. [Washington Post]

N. Va. Senior Olympics Wrap Up — The Northern Virginia Senior Olympics has wrapped up after distributing 94 Gold medals, 68 Silver medals and 41 Bronze medals over the course of two weeks. Some of the Senior Olympics events were held at Thomas Jefferson Community Center in Arlington. [Arlington Mercury]

Around Town

Rosslyn’s Santa Fe Cafe to Close

By ARLnow.com

Published September 20, 2012 at 1:55PM

The restaurant — the longest-running in Rosslyn — will be closing around Oct. 27 (exact date TBA). Owner Kip Laramie said he made the difficult decision to close after finding out his rent was to increase nearly 30 percent should he renew his lease.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to help people have a howling good time at Santa Fe Café for the last 24 years,” said Laramie. “My staff and I have seen Rosslyn develop from a convenient but somewhat sleepy neighborhood into one of the most vibrant places in the country to live, work, play and learn.”

News

Tourism Spending in Arlington Rises to $2.7 Billion

By ARLnow.com

Published September 10, 2012 at 1:20PM

The $2.7 billion in spending represents 13.1 percent of all tourism dollars in the Commonwealth of Virginia, making Arlington the top county in the state for visitor spending.

The tourism industry is responsible for 24,000 jobs in Arlington and generates nearly $74 million, according to the county, citing data from the U.S. Travel Association. Tourism payroll and employment in Arlington both outpaced the statewide averages, up 3.2 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.

Around Town

‘Dinette Design’ to Move into Saah Furniture Space

By ARLnow.com

Published September 6, 2012 at 4:45PM | Updated September 7, 2012 at 10:11AM

The store is moving into the former Saah Furniture store at 2330 Columbia Pike, according to permits.

Dinette Design sells custom-designed furniture, including couches, chairs and tables. It’s unclear if the Ballston Common Mall location at 4238 Wilson Blvd is still open; no one answered the phone there earlier today (Thursday) and the store was recently holding a “closing” sale.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 5, 2012 at 9:00AM | Updated September 5, 2012 at 3:42PM

Policy Prompts Parents to Walk, Drive to School — A controversial new busing policy that has resulted in more students walking to school prompted many parents to walk with or drive their kids to school yesterday (Tuesday). A number of parents talked to the TV news crews who were camped outside schools to report on parents’ discontent with the policy. [WJLA, MyFoxDC]

More Troubles for Crystal City Head Shop — Now it’s not just Arlington County that’s telling the owner of a new head shop in Crystal City to take down a colorful mural outside the store. The shop’s landlord has told the store’s owner to take down the mural. A lawyer for the landlord also says the store owes back rent. [WUSA]

News

Office Owner Sees Tech, Start-Up Future for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 30, 2012 at 4:35PM | Updated January 30, 2017 at 6:52PM

Raymond Rahbar, a Courthouse resident, is a founder of UberOffices, a shared office space located on one floor of a high-rise at 1400 Key Boulevard. The office opened in July and already a number of young companies now call home.

Rahbar says he was able to attract a number of companies from other parts of the D.C. area thanks to a number of factors, including: Rosslyn’s central location relative to federal offices in D.C. and Northern Virginia; an abundance of nearby transportation options; proximity to the homes of potential employees; and relatively low taxes in Virginia.